1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to reflective insulation assemblies and particularly to selectively extendable panels of such reflective insulation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of bright, or highly reflective sheets to provide thermal insulation for industrial equipment has been an established practice for a number of years. Ordinarily, aluminum or stainless steel sheets are used for this purpose. The high reflectivities that characterize these materials tend to obstruct the flow of radiant heat in order to provide an efficient, sturdy, light-weight, and long-lasting insulation.
Because the individual sheets in a particular insulating element usually are spaced from each other with intervening air gaps, heat transfer through convective processes is also reduced. Naturally, care must be taken to insure that all of these gaps are isolated from each other to prevent the development of air currents that degrade the convective insulation efficiency of the element.
In the commercial use of such insulation assemblies problems of fabrication and installation have been encountered. One of the most commonly occurring problems has been that of misfit of parts. The complex metallic structure of the reflective insulations requires that they be fabricated in a sheet metal shop and transported to the job site for installation. The sheet metal fabricator designs and builds the reflective insulation units from the construction design drawings of the objects to be insulated. Very often it is discovered when the fabricated reflective insulation units are delivered that the workmen who erected the structure deviated from the engineering specifications and drawings in the actual dimensions of the finished structure. The fabricated reflective insulation unit thus does not properly fit on the actual structure in the field. The reflective insulation structure must, therefore, be completely refabricated or modified to compensate for the nonspecification construction.
Field installation of such insulation also may require removal to allow quick and easy access to the insulated structure. As an example, the base of a nuclear reactor may require maintenance and periodic checking. It would be desirable to have some method of partially dropping some of the insulation to easily provide such maintenance and inspection.